Karnataka Minister resigns following disclosure of his property by RTI activist

25 Jun, 2012

The Law Minister of Karnataka, Mr. S. Suresh Kumar, announced his resignation on moral grounds following allegations that he suppressed facts to obtain a site under the Chief Minister’s discretionary quota from Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA). He quit after a RTI activist, S. Bhaskaran, revealed details of his property obtained under discretionary quota and pointed out that the minister had suppressed the fact that his kin already owned two sites.

Mr Kumar has been accused by a section of the media of getting a 4,000 sq ft BDA site in upmarket Rajmahal Vilas Extension (RMV) II Stage, currently worth over Rs 3 crore in the market, from the Chief Minister's discretionary quota for a payment of merely Rs 10 lakh. He also returned the allotted site before resigning.

Mr. Kumar enjoys a clean reputation and has become the 12th minister to step down since the BJP was voted to power in 2008.